Coffee-roaster.



E.T. SHORTT.

CUFFEE ROASTER.

APPLlcATloN FILED MAY 6.1918.

1,299,245. )muted Apr. 1,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- c E 0 o 9 I s f E /1 UUR/VEYS E. T. SHORTT. COFFEE ROASTER. APPLICATION FILED wmv/6,1918.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIcE.

EVERETT T. SHORTT, 0F DALLAS, TEXAS.

COFFEE-ROAS'IER.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, EVERETT T. SHoRTT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented a new and improved Coffee-Roaster, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to roasters especially designed for roasting coffee. More particularly the invention relates to roasters of the eneral form illustrated in United States atent No. 1,122,651, granted to me December 29th, 1914, which, among v4other things, is characterized by a roasting drum selfcontained with respect to its heating means and by a suction means, the heating means of the self-.contained drum consisting of electric heating elements thereby doing away`with the noxious fumes and products resulting from ordinary heating means, and the suction means serving to draw 0H the moist vapors driven out ofthe coffee beans. General objects of the present invention are to provide a roaster, the u-se of which results in important advantages amon which are a sanitary system of roasting co ee and an increased conservation of the strength of the coffee over ordinary roasting methods.

Advantages of the present construction also, are an eicient application of the electric heat as well as an effective agitation of the coffee while roasting, whereby with the improved arrangement of the heating means a more even and uniform roast results.

A further object of mv improved construction is obtained in 'utilizing the agitating means of the drum to effect the dis charge of the roasted beans.

. The present invention is characterized also by a novel means and manner of directing the roasted coffee fromy the drum to the receiving drawer therefor with the inci-I dental subjection to an air current, of the roasted coffee as itis being dumped aswell.' as after being dumped. i l

- Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecilication,fit being understood that the drawin gs are merelyillustrative of one example of the invention.- I

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical' section of a coifee roaster embodying my invention; Fig 2is a front end view thereof; Fig. 43 is a rear end view, parts being broken away and others in section "Fig. 4 is av transverse vertical section on Specication of Letters Patent.

f -bolts 22 or the like.

an enlarged scale through the heating drum and the upper part of the casing, the view being taken on the line 4 4, Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional side elevation of the clutch employed on the drive shaft;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating one manner of detachably securing an end of a replaceable heating element; Fig. 7 is a diagram of the electric heating circuit. l,

In constructing a practical embodiment of my present invention a suitable casing 10 is provided in which a drum 11 is horizontally Patented Apr. 1, 1919.v Application led May 6, 1918. Serial No. 232,793.

arranged and carried on a shaft 12. One

end of the shaft turns in ball bearings 13 in a head 14 on said casing, said bearings having a dust cap- 15. At the opposite end of the shaft the same has keyed thereon a worm wheel 16 meshing with which is a worm 17 on a drive shaft 18, exterior of the casing 10 and driven preferably by an elec- ,tric motor 19 mounted on 'a bracket 19a on the casing. The -shaft adjacent to the worm 16 turns 1n a ball bearing 20, a casing 21 inclosing the wheel and worm, said casmg being suitably secured to the main casing 10 by In the -head .14, which is at the front of the machine, there is a door 23 at one side of the shaft 12 through which the drum 11 may receive a charge of coffee to/be roasted, and at the opposite side of the center of said head a second door 24 is provided through which the coffee is discharged .as hereinafter explained. Said door 23 is provided with an opening ordinarily closed by a' pivoted disk 25 through which opening a sampling scoop may be entered for testing the coffee. The drum 11 is Supported on the shaft 12.by spokes 26 or equivalent means and these serve also to secure an annular series of curved blades 27 for agitating the coffee and causing the roasted' coffee to be discharged. e

The drum 11 in the illustrated form comprises an outer sheet metal shell 29 and a second sheet metal shell 30 at the interior of the shell 29y and spaced therefrom, there being between said shells heat-insulating material 31.' lining 32 of the shell is spaced from'the shell 30 and the interveningannular space ,accommodates a. zig-zag sheet metal partition 33 which divides the .said annular space.

alternately into inner and outer air chambers extending longitudmallyof the drum The cylindrical sheetmetal as clearly seen in Fig. 4. In each of the inner chambers between the partition 33 and the lining 32l are longitudinally disposed electric heating elements 34 which may be of any approved form. As an example of a removable heater element (see Fig. 6),

ifa wire 434 extends longitudinally of the drum at each heating element and is return bent about a transverse pin 36 on an insulating block 37 secured by-screws 38 or other removable fasteners to the front end of the drum 11, so that the front end of each heat-v ing element can be detached. Theheating elements are passed through the rear end of the drum 11, the numeral indicating" insulating knobs at the rear end of each heating element. The numeral 39 indicates strips of copper or other suitable metal extending from the heater elements 34 through the knobs or blocks 35 and extending ra dially inward to an insulating sleeve 40 on the hub 11a of the drum l1, said Strips connecting with a commutator or distributing rings 42, the numeral 44 indicating brushes to contact with said rings. The numeral 43 indicates a flange or collar on the sleeve 40 'to'exclude dust or chaff from the commutator and the adjacent ball bearing 20. The

above arrangement of the drum and heating umts results in a uniform and effective application of the heat by reason of the air chambers formedbetween the'elements 30, 32 and permits of the ready replacement of the individual heating elements as required.

The numeral 45 indicates a drawer or e sliding receptacle for receiving the roasted coffee and 46 indicates a drawer above the drawer'45 having a chute element 47 therein constituting a dumping bottom for' said drawer 46. The element 47 consists of an upstanding front member and` a lbottom member 47a pivoted as' at. 49 to thesides and is elevated above a dust or chaff tray I 51 in the bottom ofthe casing 10. A suc.

tion fan 52 ijs suitably mounted on the casing v10 at the'exterior here shown as on a bracket 53 and connectsby a pipe 54 with the `casinglO at the'top and by a pipe 55 with the casing near the bottom below the drawer 45. The fan is driven by a belt 56 which runs over a pulley 57 on the drive shaft 18 and over a pulley on Athe fan shaft 58. A clutch is provided to establish or disestablish driving connection between the shaft 18 and the fan shaft, for which purpose, suitable clutch elements 59, 60 are provided on the shaft 18. and on the pulley 57 and the latter pulley is shiftable, being provided with a shifting collar Gland engaged by a shifting fork 62. .Said fork is pivoted as at 63 to a lever 64 between the ends of the latter; said lever being ulcrumed at one end as at 65 on the bearing 66 provided for the adjacent end of thev shaft 18, said bearing i-n the illustrated example being on a .bracket 67 on the casing 10. A compression spring 68 is coiled about the shaft 18 between the bearing 66 and the collar 61 land normally tends 4'to maintain the driving clutches in`engagement, whereas the lever 64 may be thrown to the position indicated in Fig. 5 to disengage the clutches and maintain the same out of engagement.

The operation of the fan serves to draw oil' the moisture from the-drum lland the interior of the casinglO and also serves to draw off the moist vapors from the roasted 'coffee as ,the latter is passing from the door 24 down the chute 47 to the drawer 45. The

fan also creates a current' through the-l drawer 45 and its perforated bottom 55 and through the space between the said drawer l and ythe shaft tray 51. The curved blades -27 serve to thoroughly agitate the coi'ee while being roasted and when the door.24

is open said blades act to discharge the colfee through said door to the chute 47. I would state in conclusion that while the, illustrated lexamplel constitutes a practical o embodiment of my invention, I do not llimit myself strictly to the mechanical details iojo vherein illustrated, since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without depar.

ture from the spirit of the invention as vdelined in the appended. claims..

-Having thus describedmy invention, I

claim Vas new, and desire t0 secure by Letters l Patent:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a rotary roasting drum including elements forming an inclosed annular space extending about the drum, a zig-zag partition dividing said space into series of alternate inner and outer all' chambers, and means for heating the chambers of'one serles.

. 2. In an apparatus of the class described,'

va rotary roasting drum having, a central roasting chamber and an annular air space outside of said roasting chamber, azig-zag partltion dividing said space into an' annular series of air chambers, the chambers in the respective series alternating, and electric heating elements removably accommodated in the chambers of one. series. 3. In 'an apparatus of the class described, a rotary roasting Adrum having a central roasting chamber. and an annular series of air chambers about the drum outside of said roasting chamber, a longitudinal series of separate electricheating elements in the separate air spaces, said elements being removable through one end ofthe drum, and -means to detachably fasten said elements separately /at the opposite end of the drum.

4. ,In an apparatus of the 'class described, a rotary drum having 4a central roasting chamber, an annular series of separateelectric heating elements disposed about the drum outsideof said roasting chamber and ranging longitudinally-of the drum,la shaft on which said drum is mounted, and a commutator on said shaft at-one end connecting conductor strips extending from the com'- mutator to the individual heating elements.

5. An apparatus of the class described in-" cluding a casing, a drum mounted to turn in said casing, and means todrive the drum, said casing having an opening adjacent to one end ofthe drum, near the bottom of the latter, through whichroasted'material from .the drum'may be discharged, a receptacle in roastedmaterial, a slide mounted in the the casing below the 'drum for receiving roasted material, andmeans constituting aI chute and Vslidably supported between the saidI receptaclev and drum to-be moved into the casing` or toan outer position for receiving material from the drum and directing it to said receptacle.

6. An apparatus of the class described including a casing, a roasting drum mounted to turni in the casing, means to drive said drum, said casing having a discharge opening for the roasted material, a receptacle in the casing below the drum tofreceive the roasted material, a slide iiiounted in the cascasing between the vdrum and said receptacle, and a tiltable chute carried by said slide to move .therewith to a position for the chute .to lie within the-casing or to an outer position to4 receive material Vfrom the drum and direct it into said receptacle, said .chute in-' cluding a bottommember pivotally mounted on the slide and an upstanding member hav- .ing an articulated connection with the bot- -tom member to assume different angular po.

sitions.

8. lIn an apparatus of the class described,

la roasting drum, drive means therefor, i11- clud-ing' .a drive shaft, a fan, connections between 'the fan vand the casing, to exhaust l vapors from the latter, a shaft on which the fan jis mounted, driving connections between the rst shaft Vand the fan shaft, and a clutch ,on the first-mentioned shaft, said clutch *including an element fixed L0n the shaft, a sliding element, a spring acting on said sliding element and normally tending to maintain 'it in the clutching position, a shlfting fork to move the sliding clutch element againstthe action ofthe spring, and a lever fulcrumed at one end and pivotally con-l nected between its ends' with said fork, said lever being movable to a positionto permit the spring to engage the clutchv element or l to a position locking' the sliding clutch element in the release position.

9. An apparatus of the class described, a drive shaft, a xed clutch element, a sliding clutch element engageable with the first elel ment or disengagea le therefrom, a spring normally tending to `maintain the sliding clutch element in engaged osition, a clutch fork adapted to move the s iding clutch ele'- ment to disengaged vposition againstV the action of said spring, and a lever fu'lcrumed at i90 one end and pivotally 'connected between its ends with said fork, said lever being movable to a position to permit the spring to engage the clutch-elements, or to a position approximately in line with the fork and acting to lock the fork against movement under the action of the EVERETT* T. sHoR'rT. 

